1 year ago
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During the statesmanlike statement Tuesday night, erstwhile President Donald Trump doubled down connected the mendacious assertion that migrants from Haiti are stealing and eating people's pets successful Springfield, Ohio.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The radical that came in, they're eating the cats, they're eating, they're eating the pets of the radical that unrecorded there," Trump said.
These baseless rumors person spread wide online successful caller days -- amplified by right-wing politicians, including vice statesmanlike nominee Sen. JD Vance -- aft a bid of societal media posts person gone viral claiming Haitian migrants were abducting people's pets successful bid to devour them.
A spokesperson for the metropolis of Springfield told ABC News these claims are false, and that determination person been "no credible reports oregon circumstantial claims of pets being harmed, injured oregon abused by individuals successful the migrant community."
"Additionally, determination person been nary verified instances of immigrants engaging successful amerciable activities specified arsenic squatting oregon littering successful beforehand of residents' homes. Furthermore, nary reports person been made regarding members of the migrant assemblage deliberately disrupting traffic," the spokesperson added.
According to the Springfield News-Sun, the Springfield Police Department has not received immoderate reports of pets being stolen and eaten. The metropolis adjacent created a webpage debunking immoderate of the claims.
Migrants person been drawn to the portion due to the fact that of debased outgo of surviving and enactment opportunities, the metropolis says connected its site. The metropolis estimates determination are astir 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants surviving successful the county, and that the accelerated emergence successful colonisation has strained housing, wellness care, and schoolhouse resources. But the metropolis besides says that the migrants are successful the state legally and that galore are recipients of Temporary Protected Status from the national government.
The mendacious assertion that immigrants are targeting people's pets stemmed from a societal media posting primitively from a Springfield Facebook radical that went viral, wherever the poster wrote that their neighbor's daughter's person had mislaid her cat. The poster went connected to marque an unsubstantiated assertion of Haitians allegedly taking the feline for food.
The station was picked up by radical connected societal media, including rightwing activistic Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA and Elon Musk.
One of the astir salient images circulating online, which depicts a antheral holding a dormant goose, was taken 2 months agone not successful Springfield, but successful Columbus, Ohio. The nonmigratory who took the photograph told ABC News helium was amazed to spot his representation utilized to "push mendacious narratives."
Prominent Republicans person boosted this falsehood connected societal media. An AI-generated image, which showed Trump holding cats and ducks, was shared by the House Judiciary GOP relationship connected X.
Vance, successful particular, has magnified the debunked claim.
In a station connected X, Vance published a video of himself astatine a July Senate Banking Committee hearing, speechmaking a missive from Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck astir the city's challenges successful keeping up with lodging for the increasing Haitian migrant population.
In the post, Vance pushed the mendacious assertion that Haitian immigrants are kidnapping and eating people's pets successful Springfield.
"Months ago, I raised the contented of Haitian amerciable immigrants draining societal services and mostly causing chaos each implicit Springfield, Ohio," Vance wrote connected X. "Reports present amusement that radical person had their pets abducted and eaten by radical who shouldn't beryllium successful this country. Where is our borderline czar?" helium asked, a word that Republicans person attempted to tag Vice President and Democratic statesmanlike nominee Kamala Harris with, though she has denied holding that role.
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